Footwear treating apparatus



Aug. 31, 1965 e. F. EDMONDS FOOTWEAR TREATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 26, 1962 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. GEORGE F. EDMONDS WZMW ATTORNEY Aug. 31, 1965 G. F. EDMONDS FOOTWEAR TREATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26, 1962 142(RESERVOIR) AND PUMP (viii-2*) FIG-l0 E R U T T GN NE 2 E M PS 6 3 MNE 4 rr-L SE I .j/ :154 L J I64 f? l TEMPERATURE SENSING ELEMENT INVENTOR. GEORGE F. EDMONDS BY MW ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,203,112 FOOTWEAR TREATING APPARATUS George F. Edmonds, 1&183 Capital Road, RR. 4, Wichita, Kans. Filed July 26, 1962, Ser. No. 212,518 Claims. (e1. s4 104 The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for treating footwear, and more particularly pertains to apparatus for circulating air (that can be heated) through footwear including the portion thereof that accommodates the toes and/ or introducing footwear treating agents (deodorizers, disinfectants, fungicides, etc.) into the footwear including the portion thereof that accommodates the toes.

The invention has for its principal object the provision of an economical and efficient apparatus for circulating air through footwear (shoes, boots, etc.), which air can optionally and additionally be uniformly heated to a temperature that does not exceed a value such as to harm the footwear.

The invention has for another principal object the provision of apparatus in accordance with the preceding object which will introduce a footwear treating agent so as to treat the interior of footwear.

Another important object of the invention is to provide apparatus in accordance with the foregoing objects, wherein the apparatus can be preset to operate for a predetermined time interval.

Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus in accordance with the foregoing objects, wherein means will circulate air until the heating means has cooled sufficiently to prevent excessive local heating of the apparatus.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will subsequently become apparent.

Broadly, one aspect of the invention involves footwear treating apparatus comprising a base housing including a top wall, a duct in said housing depending from and closed at its upper end by the top wall, said duct having an open lower end spaced from the bottom of the housing, a fan disposed adjacent the lower end of the duct and mounted for rotation about a vertical axis for blowing air upwardly through the duct, a prime mover in the housing drivingly connected to the fan, said housing including a side wall having an air inlet opening, a pair of spaced upstanding tubular members mounted on the top wall above the duct, with the top wall having openings therethrough intermediate the interiors of the tubular members and the interior of the duct, and means at the upper ends of the tubular members adapted to be received within and support footwear. This aspect of the invention optionally though preferably also includes the provision of a heating element disposed within each of the tubular members.

The aspect of the invention defined in the preceding paragraph preferably involves the prime mover and the heating elements being electrically actuated, together with timer-switch means being provided for energizing the prime mover and the heating elements for a predetermined time interval.

Another broad aspect of the invention involves footwear treating apparatus comprising a base housing including a top wall, a duct in said housing depending from and closed at its upper end by the top wall, said duct having an open lower end spaced above the bottom of the housing, a fan disposed adjacent the lower end of the duct and mounted for rotation about a vertical axis for blowing air upwardly through the duct, a prime mover in the housing drivingly connected to the fan, said housing including a side wall having an air inlet opening, a.

32%,112 Patented Aug. 31, 1965 pair of spaced upstanding tubular members mounted on the top wall above the duct, with the top wall having openings therethrough intermediate the interiors of the tubular members and the interior of the duct, means at the upper ends of the tubular members adapted to be received within and to support footwear, and means for introducing a footwear treating agent into space adjacent the last means whereby footwear receiving the latter can be treated by such agent.

Still another aspect of the invention involves footwear treating apparatus of the type including a pair of upstanding tubular members each provided at its upper end with means adapted to be received within and to support footwear, electrically actuated means for blowing air upwardly through the tubular members, and electrical means for heating air; such apparatus being improved by the provision of means for controlling the electrical energization of the air blowing means and the air heating means, said control means including a single-throw, double-pole electric switch means having separate poles respectively connected in electrical series with the air blowing means and the air heating means, and a temperature-responsive electric switch in electrical parallel with the switch means and in electrical series with the air blowing means, said temperature-responsive electric switch being normally open and closing in response to the temperature of air heated by the electric heating means exceeding a predetermined temperature. The control means can optionally include in addition to or in lieu of the temperature-responsive switch a further temperature-responsive switch in electrical series with the air heating means and the switch means, such further temperature-responsive switch being normally closed and opening in response to the temperature of air heated by the air heating means exceeding a predetermined value. I

The invention will be better understood in the light of the following description of preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with illustrations thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the base housing with the tubular members removed;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIGURE 1, with hidden details being shown in dashed outline;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken upon the plane of the section line 33 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the base housing showing the tubular members mounted thereon, such tubular members being shown with portions thereof broken away;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a segment of a tubular member;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a segment of a tubular member adapted to contain a sublimable solid as a footwear treating agent;

FIGURE 7 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the structure shown in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a pair of segments of the tubular member provided with a reservoir and wick means for introducing a vaporiza'ble liquid into the tubular members;

FIGURE 9 is a central vertical sectional view of the structure shown in FIGURE 8 on a reduced scale;

FIGURE 10 shows, on reduced scale and partly in section, means provided at the upper end of a tubular member adapted to be recieved within and to support footwear, with means also being provided for spraying a liquid into the toe accommodating portion of the footwear; and

FIGURE 11 is a schematic diagram of the electrical control circuits.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the various views, and initially directing attention to the structure shown in FIGURES 1 through 4 inclusive, the reference numeral designates the footwear treating apparatus generally.

-The footwear treating apparatus 16 includes a base housing designated generally at 12 that includes side walls 14 and '16, front and rear walls 18 and 2d, and top and bottom Walls 22 and 24. For a reason subsequently to become apparent, the side walls 14 and 16 are respectively provided with sets of louvers 26 and 28. A circular duct 3! depends from and has its upper end closed by the top wall 22, the lower end of the duct 30 being spaced above the bottom wall 24 of the base housing 12.

An electric motor 32 is disposed Within the base housing 12 coaxially with the vertical duct 30 and is mounted on the bottom wall 24. The bottom wall 24 of the base housing 12 does not need to be continuous and can simply be a mounting spider for the motor 32. The electric motor 32 is of substantially less diameter than the duct 30, and the ouput shaft 34 of the electric motor is provided with a vane or propeller-type fan 36 disposed adjacent and preferably within the lower end of the duct 30. As clearly shown in FIGURE 3, the fan 36 has a diameter approximating that of the duct 30.

The top Wall 2 of the base housing 12 is provided with a pair of spaced openings 38 and 40 that open into the duct 30 adjacent the radial extremities of the latter, the top wall 22 additionally being provided with upstanding annular ribs 42 and 44 about the peripheries of the openings 38 and 40. The arrangement is such that, during operation of the electric motor 32, the fan 36 draws air into the base housing 12 through the sets of louvers 26 and 28, such air being forced upwardly through the duct 30 and discharged as approximately equal air streams from the base housing 12 through the openings 38 and 4t).

Annular electrical resistance heating elements 46 and 48 are disposed within the confines of the annular ribs 42 and 44 respectively, the arrangement being such that the air streams passing upwardly through the openings 38 and 40 are heated by the heating elements 46 and 48 respectively. It will be noted that air spiraling within the upper portion of the duct 30 under the influence of the fan 36 prior to being discharged through the openings 38 and 46 will pass repeatedly in close proximity to the heating elements 46 and 43 making a substantial contri'bution to the uniformity of the temperature to which the air is heated, such heating of the air being accom plished without the motor 32 or the fan 36 being excessively heated. Also, it will be observed that all portions of the base housing 12 are subjected to little, if any, heating from the elements 46 and 48, except for the portion of the top wall 22 in alignment with the duct 30.

In addition to surrounding the heating elements 46 and 48, the upstanding annular ribs 42 and 44 also are received within the lower ends of tubular members 52 and 54 respectively for directing air passing upwardly therethrough int-o such tubular members. The lower ends of the tubular members 52 and 54 can simply embrace the annular ribs 42 and 44 and rest upon the top wall 22 as shown, and if deemed expedient or otherwise desired, means not shown can be provided for releasably securing the tubular members 52 and 54 to the annular ribs 42 and 44, respectively. The upstanding tubular members 52 and 54 can be of such vertical extent as may be desired; however, it is preferred that the vertical extent of the tubular members 52 and 54 be of adjust-able effective vertical extent in which event the tubular members 52 and 54 are of jointed or segmented character so that the effective heights are governed by the number and lengths of the joints or segments that are assembled, much in the same fashion as shown in FIGURE 1 in US. Patent No. 2,465,362 issued March 29, 1949 to Elliott. When the tubular members 52 and 54 are of a jointed or segmented character, each joint or segment will have a configuration such as that of the tubular element indicated at 56 in FIGURE 5, it being noted that one end of the tubular element is reduced as indicated at 58 to be received in the adjacent tubular element. Locking devices, not shown, can be provided at the junctures of segments.

Regardless of how the tubular members 52 and 54 are made up or assembled, the upper ends of each of the tubular members 52 and 54 are preferably provided with means adapted to be received within and support footwear. Such means can for example be such as are disclosed in US. Patent No. 1,731,272 issued October 15, 1929, to Schrenkeisen, U.S. Patent No. 2,444,195 issued June 29, 1948, to Gruver, US. Patent No. 2,465,362 issued March 29, 1949, to Elliott, or US. Patent No.. 2,443,695 issued June 22, 1948, to Russell; however, the means hereinafter described are preferred. Inasmuch as the means provided at the upper ends of the tubular members 52 and 54 are essentially identical to each other (differing at most from each other by each being a mere image of the other) a detailed description of the means provided for the tubular member 52 will suffice for both. Such means provided in association with tubular members 54 comprises a vane 60 received within and secured to the upper end of the tubular member 52, such vane 60 being inclined to the axis of the tubular member 52 and projecting upwardly from the tubular member 52 so as to be received within the heel portion of a shoe as will be understood. A second vane structure is provided that is comprised of a vane 62 extending into and secured to the upper end of the tubular member 52. The vane 62 is spaced from the vane 66 so air discharged from the upper end of the tubular member 52 can pass therebet'ween so as to reach the arch portion of foot-wear as will be understood. The vane 62 is inclined with respect to the axis of the tubular member 52 and is inclined in the direction opposite to that of the vane 60. The vane 62 projects upwardly from the upper end of the tubular member 52 and at a position spaced thereabove merges with a horizontal vane extension 64 that extends in a direction opposite the vane 60. The vane 62 and the vane extension 64 are provided with spaced lateral depending flanges in an arrangement such that the vane structure defined by the vane 62, the vane extension 64 and the depending flanges 66 are of an inverted U-shape in transverse cross section. Although not so shown, the vane 62, the vane extension 64 and the flanges 66 can be corrugated and perforated if deemed expedient or necessary. The vane 62, the vane extension 64 and the depending flanges 66 area adapted to be received Within, support and direct air discharged from the upper end of the tubular member 52 into the toe portion of footwear.

It is preferred that the upper end portions 68 and 713 of the tubular members 52 and 54 be segmented as at 72 and 74 so that such upper end portions 68 and 76 can be coupled directly to the upstanding annular ribs 42 and 44 so that the overall height of the apparatus 10 can be at a minimum when the apparatus is to be used in treating footwear of short overall height, such as oxfords. On the other hand, when the footwear to be treated by the apparatus 10 has relatively greater height, such as boots, the tubular members 52 and 54 are as sembled to afford the necessary overall height, it being understood that the leg portions of boots extend down about the tubular portions 52 and 54. While the tubular members 52 and '54 can be of a height corresponding to the height of the footwear to be treated, this is not essential when the footwear is of great height and flexible as in the case of fishermens gear (hip and Waist length boots) in which event the upper parts can be folded about the members 52 and 54.

Means is provided for introducing a footwear treating agent into space adjacent the means constituted of the elements 60, 62, 64 and 66. One version of such means is shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, such means being especially adapted for use when the treating agent is in the nature of a sublimable solid. Such a sublimable solid can be, for example, substances like naphthalene or paradichloro-benzene or mixtures thereof. The term sublimable solid is meant to include also such type of substances incorporating in admixture therewith materials such as elemental iodine (itself a sublimable solid); vaporizable or volatile essential oils (perfumes and deodorizers), antisepti'cs, fungicides, fumigants, etc; and finelydivided nonvolatile solids that can be entrained and car ried easily by an air stream upon sublimation of the solid in which such nonvolatile sold particles are embedded. Thus, for example, treating agents such as wormwood, chloro-meta-xylenol, thymol, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, sodium propionate, sodium caprylate, etc., can be included in sublimable solids. The means shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 comprises a two-piece tubular element designated generally at 76 having a reduced end 78. When the means shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 is to employed, each of the tubular members 52 and 54 is assembled to include one of the tubular elements 76 as part thereof. The tubular element 76 is comprised of a relatively long tubular section 8t) threadingly connected as shown at 82 to a relatively shorter tubular section 84, such shorter tubular section 84 having the reduced end 78. Foraminate members or screens 86 and 88 are fixed in the tubular sections 80 and 84 respectively, whereby the tubular element 76 is adapted to contain lumps or granules of a sublimable solid 90 intermediate the screens 86 and 88. The threaded connection 82 between the tubular sections 80 and 84 enables replenishment of sublimable solid 98 in the tubular element 76.

When the apparatus It} employs tubular elements '76 containing the sublimable solid 98, heated air passing upwardly through the tubular members 52 and 54 including such tubular members 76, the heated air becomes enriched with the vapors or fumes of the sublimable solid 98 and entrains fine particulate solids in the latter and directs such vapors, fumes and entrained solids into the heel, arch and toe portions of the footwear undergoing treatment by the apparatus 10.

Finely-divided, nonvolatile solid treating agents do not have to be embedded in a sublimaole solid for air stream entrainment, but can be simply mixed with granules or lumps of a sublimable solid, or the particulate solids can be used in the absence of any sublimable solids on using a supporting screen of sufficiently fine mesh.

An alternative means for introducing a treating agent is shown in FIGURES 8 and 9. The means shown in FIGURES 8 and 9 comprises a pair of tubular elements 92 and 94 having the same spacing as the upstanding annular ribs 42 and 44 and. adapted to be engaged about such ribs so as to constitute the lowermost segments of tubular members 52 and 54, it being noted that the upper ends of the tubular elements 92 and 94 are reduced at 96 and 98 respectively for connection to other portions of the tubular elements 52 and 54 respectively.

The tubular elements 92 and 94 are joined by a reservoir structure 188 adapted to contain a vaporizable liquid containing a footwear treating agent such as a solution of chemicals like those mentioned previously, the same being indicated at 102. The liquid 102 can simply be the product of Lever Bros. sold under the trademark Air-Wick. The reservoir 1% is provided with an opening and filler cap 184. Annular sumps 106 and 108 are provided in the tubular elements 92 and 94, such sumps being respectively defined by sleeves 110 and 112 received within the tubular elements 92 and 94 in spaced relation thereto, with the lower ends of the sleeves 110 and 112 being sealed to the tubular elements 92 and 94 by annular plates 114 and 116. It will be noted that the sleeves 110 and 112 have the same vertical extent as the reservoir 1%, and openings 118 and 120 are provided to afford fluid communication between the bottom of the reservoir and the sumps 106 and 108, respectively.

Disposed within and extending above the sumps 106 and 108 are annular wicks 122 and 124 made of a material wettable by the liquid 102 and can be a matted textile substance, such as felt, or the wicks can be woven. Preferably, the portions of the wicks 122 and 124 above the sleeves and 112 are retained in a position so as not to obstruct the flow of air upwardly through the tubular members 52 and 54 by annular foraminate members or screens 126 and 128.

When the structure shown in FIGURES 8 and 9 is employed in use of the apparatus 10, the portions of the wicks 122 and 124 above the sleeves 110 and 112 are wetted by the liquid 102 so as to vaporize liquid 102 into the air streams passing upwardly through the tubular members 52 and 54 so as to be passed into footwear undergoing treatment by the apparatus 10.

Attention is now directed to the structure shown in FIGURE 10, which pertains to another means for introducing a treating agent. Except as hereinafter described in detail, the structure shown in FIGURE 10 is identical to the structure shown in FIGURE 4 in connection with the upper end portion of the tubular member 52. A conduit 130 is provided, one portion of such conduit 130 being disposed below the vane 62 and the vane extension 64 and intermediate the flanges 66, such portion of the conduit 130 being provided at its extremity with a spray nozzle 132 disposed so as to spray a liquid forced through the conduit 130 into the toe portion 134 of a shoe positioned as shown at 136 in dashed outline. The conduit 138 extends into and across the hollow interior of the upper end portion 68 of the tubular mem ber 52, with the end of the conduit 138 remote from the nozzle 132 extending through the side of the upper end portion 68 of the tubular member 52 and being secured thereto at such position. The conduit 130 can intermediate its ends be otherwise rigidly attached to the upper end portion 68 of the tubular member 52 to further rigidify the attachment of the conduit 138 as may be necessary or deemed expedient.

The end of the tubular conduit 130 remote from the nozzle 132 opens to the outside of the upper end portion 68 of the tubular member 52 and is adapted to sealingly receive the tapered end portion 138 of the discharge pipe 148 of a combined reservoir and manually-actuated pump 142. The combined reservoir and pump 142 is similar in construction to and analogous in operation to conventional toy water pistols of the type that includes a piston operating in a chamber provided with inlet and outlet ports, with the inlet and outlet ports being pro- Vided with check valves. conventionally such toy water pistols include a reservoir for liquid in communication with the inlet port and check valve. The combined reservoir and manually-actuated pump 142 includes a piston plunger 144 operating against a compression spring (not shown), such piston plunger 144 underlying a pivoted plunger actuator 146 in an arrangement such that when the actuator 146 is pressed against the body of the structure 142, liquid contained within the structure 142 is forced through the discharge pipe 148 into the conduit 130 to be discharged as a spray from the nozzle 132. Sealing connection between the discharge pipe and the conduit 130 is releasably established simply by forcing the tapered end portion 138 of the discharge pipe 140 into the end of the conduit 130, and such connection can be broken by simply withdrawing the discharge pipe 140 from the conduit 138. To prevent liquid remaining in the conduit 130 from draining from the latter, the conduit 138 can be provided with a simple ball-check valve indicated at 148.

The apparatus shown in FIGURE 10 for introducing a treating agent is well suited for applying to the in terior of footwear a spray of a liquid treating agent. Such liquid can be a solution, emulsion or fine dispersion of chemicals such as previously mentioned. The spray can be applied before, during or after operation of the motor 32.

Attention is now directed to FIGURE 11, wherein the control means for the electric motor 32 and the heating elements 46 and 48 is disclosed. Indicated in dashed outline at 150 is a conventional timer-switch means that includes a normally open single-throw, doublepole switch including movable contacts 152 and 154 and stationary contacts respectively cooperating therewith 156 and 158. The conventional timer-switch means 156 is provided with a control knob 160 mounted on the front wall 18 of the base housing 12, and is of such character that the movable contacts 152 and 154 are normally open, but on appropriate manipulation of the knob 16%) are closed for a predetermined time interval that is preset by the amount of rotation given the control knob 160. The timing element of the timer-switch means 156 can either involve an electric clock mechanism or a mechanical clock mechanism (not shown) as desired.

A pair of temperature-responsive switches 162 and 164 are provided, such switches being respectively associated with temperature sensing elements 166 and 168 carried by the base housing 12 and coaxially positioned above the upstanding annular ribs 42 and 44 as shown. The temperature sensing element 168 and the switch 164 associated therewith are conventional and are such that the switch 164 is normally open and is closed whenever the temperature sensed by the element 168 exceeds a predetermined temperature. In the case of the sensing element 168 and the switch 164, the temperature selected as being effective to close the switch 164 is selected to be such as to be only a few degrees above the maximum temperature of the environment in which the apparatus is to be used.

The temperature sensing element 166 and the switch 162 associated therewith are conventional, the switch 162 normally being closed and opening in response to the temperature sensed by the element 166 beingin excess of a predetermined value. In the case of the temperature sensing element 166 and the switch 162, the temperature effective to open the switch 162 is variable, with the selection of such control being established by conventional means (not shown) under the control of a rotatable control knob 170.

The electrical resistance heating elements 46 and 48, the electric motor 32, the switches 162 and 164, and the switches of the timer-switch means are connected to a power plug 172 as shown, it being noted that the switch 162 is an electrical series with the switch pole 156 and the electrical heating elements 46 and 48, while the switch 164 is in electrical parallel with the movable contact 154 and the pole 158. The arrangement is such that the electric motor 32 is energized whenever the control knob 160 is adjusted to operate the apparatus 10 for a predetermined time interval and the electric motor remains energized for the entire duration of such time interval. In addition, the electric motor 32 will be actuated for such period after the predetermined time interval as the switch 164 may remain closed as by the sensing element 168 sensing a temperature substantially in excess of ambient temperatures. The electrical heating elements 46 and 48 will at most be energized for the time interval controlled by the timer-switch means 150, and will be interrupted in actuation during such predetermined time interval whenever the switch 162 opens as a result of the sensing element 166 sensing a temperature in excess of the temperature preset by the control knob 170, it being understood that such preselected temperature will be such that the footwear treated by the apparatus lil Will not be damaged by excessive temperatures. Though the electrical heating elements 46 and 48 can be arranged in parallel, it is preferred that they be arranged in series with each other so that if either of such elements fail both of such elements will be inoperative, especially when the temperature sensing elements 166 and 168 are disposed in different tubular members.

Although not so shown, the apparatus illustrated and described can be associated with conventional coinoperated vending equipment in the usual manner, whereby the blowing and heating cycles can each require deposit of a suitable coin for initiation.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a highly efficient and economical footwear treating apparatus has been provided that is extremely flexible in operation and which is not limited solely to the drying and/or warming of footwear. The illustrated and described apparatus can elficiently introduce footwear treating agents. While the means for introducing footwear treating agents shown in FIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9 require that the electric motor 32 be actuated, the rate at which such treating agents are introduced is largely a function of the temperature of the air streams, and accordingly, the control over such temperature through the adjustment of the control knob 17 it enables a substantial degree of con trol over the rate at which treating agents are introduced. In this regard, it should be noted that the knob 170 can be so positioned that the electrical heating elements 46 and 48 are not energized throughout the timed cycle preset by the use of the control knob 160, if desired. It will also be obvious that the means for introducing a treating agent shown in FIGURE 10 can be operated at any time desired whether the electric motor 32 is energized or not.

As it will be evident to those skilled in the art, the illustratedand preferred embodiments of the invention are subject to numerous variations without departing from the spirit of the invention, and accordingly, attention is directed to the appended claims in order to ascertain the actual scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Footwear treating apparatus comprising a base housing including a top wall, a duct in said housing depending from and closed at its upper end by the top wall, said duct having an open lower end spaced above the bottom of the housing, a fan disposed adjacent the lower end of the duct and mounted for rotation about a vertical axis for blowing air upwardly through the duct, a prime mover in the housing drivingly connected to the fan, said housing including a side wall having an air inlet opening, a pair of spaced upstanding tubular members mounted on the top wall above the duct, with the top wall having openings therethrough intermediate the interiors of the tubular members and the interior of the duct, a heating element disposed within each of the tubular members, and means at the upper ends of the tubular members adapted to be received within and to support footwear.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said prime mover and the heating elements are each electrically actuated, and timer-switch means for concurrently energizing the prime mover and the heating elements for a predetermined time interval, means for preventing energization of the heating elements when the temperature of heated air exceeds a first predetermined value, and means for energizing the prime mover when the temperature of heated air exceed-s a second predetermined value.

3. Footwear treating apparatus comprising a base housing including a top Wall, a duct in said housing depending from and closed at its upper end by the top Wall, said duct having an open lower end spaced above the bottom ends of the tubular members adapted to be received within and to support footwear, means for introducing a footwear treating agent into space adjacent the last means whereby footwear receiving the latter can be treated by such agent, and an electric heating means disposed in the travel path of air passing upwardly through the duct and the tubular members, said heating means being disposed along such travel path through the duct and the tubular members and intermediate the lower end of the duct and the space into which an agent can be introduced.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein said means for introducing a treating agent comprises each of the tubular members including a forarninate wall therein for supporting a granular and sublimable treating agent thereon in an arrangement such that all air passing through the tubular member must pass through the foraminate Wall and such treating agent as may be resting on such foraminate wall.

5. The combination of claim 3, wherein said means for introducing a treating agent comprises in association with the tubular members a reservoir for a liquid treating agent, an annular wick in each tubular member extending about the inner surface thereof, and passageway means for maintaining the annular wick saturated from the reservoir.

6. The combination of claim 3, wherein said means includes in association with each of the tubular members a conduit having a first end provided with a spray nozzle adjacent the footwear supporting means, and means including a manually operable pump for forcing a liquid treating agent into the second end of the conduit.

7. In footwear treating apparatus of the type including a pair of upstanding tubular members each provided at its upper end with means adapted to be received within and to support footwear, electrically actuated means for blowing air upwardly through the tubular members, and electrical means for heating air; the improvement comprising means for introducing a treating agent into heated air together with means for controlling the electrical energization of the air blowing means and the air heating means, said control means including a single-throw, double-pole electric switch means having separate poles respectively connected in electrical series with the air blowing means and the air heating means, a temperatureresponsive electric switch in electrical parallel with the switch means and in electrical series with the air blowing means, said temperature-responsive electric switch being normally open and closing in response to the temperature of air heated by the electric heating means exceeding a predetermined temperature, and a second temperatureresponsive electric switch that is normally closed and opens in response to the temperature of air heated by the air heating means exceeding a second predetermined temperature, said second electric switch being in electrical series with the switch means and the air heating means.

8. in footwear treating apparatus of the type including a pair of upstanding tubular members each provided at its upper end with means adapted to be received within and to support footwear, and wherein means is provided to heat and force such heated air upwardly into the lower ends of the tubular members; the improvement comprising in combination therewith of means above the lower ends of the tubular members for introducing a treating agent into heated air passing through the tubular members, said last means including means for holding a vaporizable treating agent in direct contact with heated air passing through the tubular members.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein said means for introducing a treating agent comprises each of said tubular members including separable sections, each of such sections being provided with a transverse ioraminate wall, whereby a granular sublimable treating agent can be contained in the tubular member intermediate said foraminate walls so that all heated air passing through the tubular member must pass through the foraminate Walls and in intimate contact with such sublimable agent as may be disposed therebetween.

19. The combination of claim 8, wherein said means for introducing a treating agent comprises an annular sump defined about the interior of each of the tubular members, an annular wick in each of the sumps and extending thereabove to surround and be in direct contact with the interior of the tubular member, a reservoir for a vaporizable liquid treating agent, and passageway means communicating between the reservoir and the interior of the annular sumps, whereby the wicks can be wetted from the reservoir.

References Cited by the Examiner UNlTED STATES PATENTS 386,746 7/88 Hess 34-104 2,435,756 2/48 Schlesinger 239-34 X 2,443,695 6/48 Russell 34104 2,444,195 6/48 Gruver 34-404 2,608,436 8/52 Baughman 23947 2,629,183 2/53 Lovelace 34101 2,873,539 2/59 Morey 34-82 X 2,878,579 3/59 Fuchs 3445 2,977,647 4/61 Vassiliades et al 21-422 FQREIGN PATENTS 519,746 5/53 Belgium.

698,469 10/53 Great Britain.

855,289 11/60 Great Britain.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Acting Primary Examiner. NGRMAN YUDKOFF, Examiner. 

8. IN FOOTWEAR TREATING APPARATUS OF THE TYPE INCLUDING A PAIR OF UPSTANDING TUBULAR MEMBERS EACH PROVIDED AT ITS UPPER END WITH MEANS ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED WITHIN AND TO SUPPORT FOOTWEAR, AND WHEREIN MEANS IS PROVIDED TO HEAT AND FORCE SUCH HEATED AIR UPWARDLY INTO THE LOWER ENDS OF THE TUBULAR MEMBERS; THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING IN COMBINATION THEREWITH OF MEANS ABOVE THE LOWER ENDS OF THE TUBULAR MEMBERS FOR INTRODUCING A TREATING AGENT INTO HEATED AIR PASSIGN THROUGH THE TUBULAR MEMBERS, SAID LAST MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR HOLDING A VAPORIZABLE TREATING AGENT IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH HEATED AIR PASSING THROUGH THE TUBULAR MEMBERS. 